A San Bernardino County Sheriff SWAT team returns to the command post at Bear Mountain in Big Bear after searching for Christopher Jordan Dorner on Feb. 8. Search efforts were hampered by a heavy winter storm has hit the area. (Photo by Will Lester/San Gabriel Valley Tribune)

Top Stories of 2013

From hot sauce to political corruption to same-sex marriage, Southern California held its share of the national spotlight in 2013.

But it was the violence on a massive scale that overshadowed the news and eroded our sense of safety.

In November, thousands of travelers were forced to flee LAX on foot when a lone gunman stalked Los Angeles International Airport looking to shoot and kill TSA officers. A massive manhunt for a former police officer and a cop killer named Christopher Dorner set the region on edge for nearly two weeks last winter.

There were some bright spots — a steadily improving economy making its way on the long road to recovery and the Boys of Summer, the Dodgers, gave us hope for a World Series championship, if only for a little while.

LA gets new mayor

The day Los Angeles voters handed Eric Garcetti the mayor’s office was the beginning of a new era in Los Angeles politics.

Garcetti, 42, who took over in May after defeating City Controller Wendy Greuel with 54 percent of the vote, emphasized improving the quality of life in L.A.

So far, he’s focused on environmental issues such as the restoration of the L.A. River and asking businesses to cut back on wastewater. Garcetti is leading an effort to put another transportation measure on the ballot to help build more freeway lanes and light-rail lines.

Many, including the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority in the eastern part of Los Angeles County, see Garcetti as an ally, a leader in the region who is committed to doing more than the previous administration.

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Same-sex marriages resume

County clerks throughout the state begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples last summer after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned California’s Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage approved by voters in 2008.

California became the largest state in the nation to allow same-sex marriages.

Dodgers are back; racing setback

The Dodgers emerged from a lousy first half to go 46-10 from June 21 to Aug. 23 and win the National League West title. The Boys in Blue thrilled their fans with the play of Yasiel Puig, Adrian Gonzalez and Clayton Kershaw.

Although the team, in part owned by Magic Johnson, lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Championship Series, Las Vegas oddsmakers picked them to win the World Series in 2014.

Meanwhile, horse racing was back in the news. For the second year in a row, the Breeders’ Cup Championships were held at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, which got a $15 million face-lift.

While in Inglewood, Betfair Hollywood Park closed its gates this month after a 75-year run. Plans call for building 3,000 housing units, retail and office space and 25 acres of parkland.

What they didn’t anticipate were complaints from neighbors who said the pungent odors emanating from the plant caused eye irritations and even nosebleeds.

A judge ruled that Huy Fong Foods must cease operations and work on mitigating the odor. Though the judge didn’t order a complete shutdown of the Azusa Canyon Road facility, the company said testing of new equipment could result in a shortage of the popular condiment.

The complaints also generated a graphic response: A green banner stretched across the front of the massive building which reads, “No Tear Gas Made Here.”

The same kind of steady growth held true for the state, which added 226,000 jobs in the year for an annual growth rate of 1.6 percent and 903,000 jobs since February 2010.

“While 2013 wasn’t a great year, it was a year of continued improvement in California and in Southern California,” said Jordan Levine, an economist and the director of economic research with Beacon Economics in Los Angeles.

In the Inland Empire, the unemployment rate dropped to 9.4 percent in November compared with 11.2 percent a year earlier, the Economic Development Department reported. It added 13,000 jobs in November.

The growth is not surprising, but rather as predicted by his group, Levine said.

Boeing’s last C-17

The aircraft giant’s last C-17 military cargo plane rolled off the assembly line in September. Boeing’s Globemaster III plant in East Long Beach will shutter in 2015. The loss could leave 2,200 Boeing Co. employees in and around Long Beach out of work.

Created in the 1980s, the military plane was a workhorse for the U.S. Air Force for more than two decades.

“It was a long run with the U.S. military, and it was a good run,” said Boeing engineer Bob Grech during a ceremony at the Long Beach assembly plant.

Dorner’s killing spree

Dorner, trained by the LAPD but fired in 2008 for lying about his superior officer, killed four people — a young couple and two law enforcement agents — and wounded two more officers.

Dorner died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a mountain cabin set ablaze from tear gas canisters fired by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department SWAT team after a four-hour standoff.

“Hopefully this type of event doesn’t occur again,” San Bernardino County Sheriff John McMahon said a few weeks after the rampage.

Bankruptcy: A city’s newest tool

In August, Bankruptcy Judge Meredith Jury said she didn’t see any other alternative for the city of San Bernardino to become solvent again but for bankruptcy. With that, the city was granted bankruptcy protection and was allowed to reorganize under Chapter 9 of the code.

The crucial decision came over the objection of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, which said the ruling would allow any other city to maneuver out of paying retirement pension obligations to its employees.

Terror at LAX

On Nov. 1, alleged gunman Paul Ciancia walked into Terminal 3 at Los Angeles International Airport, took a .223 caliber assault rifle from his duffle bag and began shooting.

With that, Los Angeles became another city on a long list of places assaulted by acts of terror in 2013.

Authorities say Ciancia, an unemployed mechanic from New Jersey, left his apartment in Los Angeles with the intent of shooting agents of the Transportation Security Administration. Ciancia is accused of shooting and killing Gerardo Hernandez, 39, who was hit at least a dozen times.

Also injured in the shooting were TSA officers Tony Leroy Grigsby and James Maurice Speer. Both were honored for their acts of bravery. A traveler, Brian Ludmer, who is a teacher at Calabasas High School, was shot in the right leg.

While some called for the arming of TSA agents, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck said a more effective way to protect passengers and employees at LAX is to install bullet proof glass and add more security cameras.

Ciancia, who was shot four times, is recovering and faces 11 criminal counts, including first-degree murder and violence at an international airport. On Thursday he pleaded not guilty to all counts.

Phony Rockefeller convicted

After 28 years, the mystery of what happened to newlyweds John and Linda Sohus of San Marino was solved, in part.

The defendant was a strange man who for 20 years said he was related to the influential and wealthy Rockefeller family. He lived in the guest cottage of Sohus’ mother in San Marino, next to where the remains of John Sohus’ trisected body were found buried in 1994, unearthed by a pool contractor.

The German-born con man was sentenced to 27 years to life in prison. In an exclusive interview with the Pasadena Star-News, Gerhartsreiter said he was innocent and would appeal. During the sentencing, John Sohus’ sister turned and asked the defendant: “Why did you kill my brother? What happened to Linda?”

Bus crash killed eight

The bus was carrying a group of tourists from Tijuana and was on its way back from a snow trip in Big Bear when the bus hit a pickup on Highway 38. Seven bus passengers died, along with the driver of the truck, Fred Richardson, 72, of Mountain Home Village.

The accident prompted calls for more inspections of charter buses on California highways.

FBI accuses Senator of graft

Democratic Sen. Ronald Calderon of Montebello was under investigation by the FBI for taking bribes.

Calderon, who comes from a long line of family members in the state Legislature, allegedly solicited a total of $88,000 in bribes from an undercover FBI agent who was posing as a film producer and from a hospital executive, according to published reports. His office was searched on June 3.

The Senate Rules Committee removed Calderon from all state legislative committees.

Calderon said he would defend himself “against false allegations and illegal acts committed by a federal agency ...”

Trash takes different route

For the first time in half a decade, Los Angeles County residents’ trash will not be deposited in the giant Puente Hills Landfill near Hacienda Heights and instead will go to Orange and San Bernardino counties.

The largest landfill in the nation — the final resting place of 130 million tons of Southern California’s trash since 1957 — closed Nov. 1. Trash will be taken to various Material Recovery Facilities in Industry, Azusa and across the region. Garbage will be dumped at two different landfills, one in Brea and the other near Irvine. Privately owned Athens Services will take trash to its San Fernando Valley landfill near Sun Valley.

The rest of L.A. County’s trash will end up in six landfills in San Bernardino County owned and operated by Athens.